On the recordJune 23, 2015
I would like to mention that as to the other two absences, Senator Menendez had voted no on cloture before, and Senator Lee had voted no on cloture before. So the vote would have been 61 to 39. More importantly, this is a day of celebration in the corporate suites of this country, to be sure, because they have another corporate-sponsored trade agreement that will mean more money in some investors' pockets. It will mean more plant closings in Ohio, Arizona, Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Maine, and all over this country. Most importantly, what I didn't understand about the vote today is that even though the Wall Street Journal, the CATO Institute, and others acknowledge that, as to the decisions we make here on trade agreements--while they say it is a net increase in jobs--people lose their jobs because of the decisions we make. So we make decisions here today that throw people out of work. We know that. Across the political spectrum that is acknowledged. But we today don't do anything to help those workers that lose their jobs. We make a decision to throw people in Mansfield, OH, and Cleveland, OH, out of work, but then we don't take care of those workers that lost their jobs because of our decisions. It is shameful. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
